Bell-ringing means for toy locomotives



H. S. BECKER BELL RINGING MEANS FOR TOY LOCOMOTIVES July I7, 1928.

Filed Jan. 17, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet i gwugntoc arz 5.,Bec78e7;

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July 17, 19.28.

H. S. BECKER BELL RINGING MEANS FOR TOY LOCOMOTIVES Filed Jan. 17, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet Patented July 17, 1928.

! UNITED STATES PATENTOFFIYCEQ,"

HARRY s. BECKER, or mvna'romisr, ILLINOIS, AssIeNoa TO. AMERICAN FLYER MFG. 00., or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION or ILLINOIS.

BELL-RINGING Items For. TOY LOCOMOTIVES.

Application filed January 17, 1928. Serial No. 247,447.

This invention relates to toy railways, and

more particularly to a novel bell-ringing construction and arrangement for use on electrically or mechanically operated toy locomotives, for simulating the action and appearance of the bells on large passenger and freight service locomotives now in general use.

A primary object of the invention is to provide bell-ringing means adapted to be embodied in a self-contained unit and which can be attached to the motor frame or other 7 locomotive'or car in such a man partof a balance and at the same time add ner as to weight to the locomotive which is a desir-- able feature since it enables themto hold to the tracks easier, the additional weight of locomotive.

the bell unit taking the place of cast iron or other heavy weights'heretofore added merely for the purpose -of adding weight and having no part in the functloning of the the invention is to provide aconstructionwhlch 1s posltive 1n its actlon and can be operated elther man Another object of intermittent manner or manually rendered inoperative to be silenced. In that connection' the inventioncontemplates a concealed ringing bell and a visible mute or dummy bell which is mechanically operated to 'swing'in synchronism with the ringing bell to more closely simulate the appearance and action of standard practice.

A further object of the invention is to provide a construction WlllOh is econonncal to manufacture and simple to operate, there- I by permitting the same to be operated or' controlled by inexperienced ersons .to function in a practical andrelia 1e manner. With the-above and other objects in view which'will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement ofv parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated 1 and claimed. V

A preferred and practical embodiment of theinvention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which: I

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a locomotive having the present bell ringing means applied thereto.

Y and actuated by a in 111g lever w ing the position of parts with the clapper element of the bell poised thereabout to be released to ring the bell.

Figure l is a detail perspective view of the unit. I

Figure 5 is a detail perspective view of the clapper. I I v I Figure 6 and 7 are respectively side and front elevations ofthe dummy bell hanger. Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout'the several figures of the drawings.

The invention essentially includes in its organization a mute or dummy bell A mounted in a bracket B on the top of a locomotive, car, or other wheeled toy vehicle C, the said dummy bell being mounted on a crank shaft D operatively connected'by a rod E with a shiftable part of a concealed bell unit F mounted within thelocomotive a'moving part thereof.

p The bell ringing unit F includes in its assembly a supporting plate '1 carrying therewith a hell 2 and agear 3 adapted to mesh with a motor driven pinion tor an equivalent actuator for imparting movement to said gear to operate the bell ringing mechanism. The gear 3 carries therewith a cam 5 for-en'g the; lower end 6 of an actuatich is pivotally mounted on the bracket as indicated at 8 and has an u wardl projecting arm 9 connected with the rod' for operating the mute bell. The actuating lever 7 is provided at a point ad- "jacent its pivot 8 with an offset ear 10 adapted to constitute an anchorfor one end of a spring 11 whose opposite end is con-1 nected with the hook portion 12-of abellclapper lever 13 pivoted to the plate 1 as indicated at 14. I r

The bell-clapper lever 13 consists of a body portion having an intermediate laterally ofi'set shoulder 15 while its upper endis adapted to abut against a stop member or abutment 16 struck outfrom the plate 1 whereby the spring clapper portion 17 of p the clapper lever-will be snapped into engagement with the bell 2 when the clapper I lever is released by the trigger detent 18 and strikes against the abutment. The said trigger or falling detent 18 is pivoted to the actuating lever 7 as indicated at 19 and is provided with a slot 20 for receiving a pin 21 carried by the lever 7. W hen the lower end 6 or the lever 8 is againsta fiat side of the cam as shown in Fig. 2,the clapper 17 sounds the bell, and for thepurpose of tensioning the clapper lever 13- for the next sounding of the bell the lower end 6 of the lever '2' is engaged by the nose of the cam 13 until the nose or point 22 of the trigger is released from the shoulder of the clap per lever whereupon the latter will snap toward the bell 2 under the influence of the tensioned spring 11.

The upper corner of the plate 1 is provided with an offset portion 1" which has pivotally connected thereto as indicated at 23, a control lever 24, the same being provided with an offset pin adapted to engage with the arm 9 of the main actuating lever 7 when desired to hold the said lever in an operative position to prevent the operation of the bell ringing mechanism or in other words silence the bell ringer. When the lever 24 is in the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3 the mechanism will be operative but when it is shifted to the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, the projection 25 will engage the lever 9 to maintain it inoperative.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the present construction includes a novel bell ringing unit which may be mounted within the body or housing of the car or locomotive thereby to be concealedancl protected from mis-handling. Also the combination of the interior or concealed hell or gong and the exterior bell which swings or reciprocates in synchronism with the ringing v or sounding of the bell provides anovel and ei'fective simulation of bell ringing practice n connectlon with standard locomotives. As the cam 5 rotates under the influence of actuator. which may be any suitably :(lllVGI'l part or moving part of the locomot ve, such for example as the motor or a wheel axle, the lever 7 will be oscillated on its pivot 8 and will alternately raise and permit thetrigger 18 to fall to cause its point 22 to snap on" of the shoulder 15 of the clapper lever and thus release said lever so that the spring 11 will quickly move the lever 13 into engagement with the stop abut- :ment 16 and thus move the spring clapper 1-7 to sharply strike the bell or gong.

Without further description it is thought that the features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and it will of course be understood that changes in the form,-proportion and 'minor details of construction may be resorted to, without departing from and a shiftable trigger element carried by I the main lever and adapted to tension the clapper lever and release it for engagement with the bell. 3

"2. In a toy locomotive, the combination oi a mute bell and a ringingv belloperatively connected, and means for operating said r nging bell, said means comprising a carrier plate, a bell mounted on the plate, agear,

also mounted on the plate, a cam operated by said gear, a lever pivoted to the plate and operatively connected at one end with the mute bell while the other end isengaged by said cam, a clapper lever pivotally mounted on theplate, an abutmen't'against q which the clapper lever strikes, a spring for connecting the main and clapper levers under tension, a trigger pivotally carried by the main lever and having means forengaging and releasing the clapper lever to snap it into engagement with the bell.

3. A bell ringing device for toy locomo tives comprising a unit including a carrier plate, abell carried by'the plate, a gear pivoted to the plate and adapted toflbe connected with an operative part of the loconiotive,a cam actuated by the gear, a pair of levers having a separate pivot and connected by a common spring, a clapper carried by one of the-levers and a trigger element carried by, the other of said levers whereby when the lever carrying the trigger element isact-uatedbythe cam the clapper will sound the bell. i l

4. ln a toy electric vlocomotive,- the com- I b1nat1on ofaswinging mute bell mounted V in a visible position on the locomotive and aringing bell mounted in a concealed position within the locomotive, a clapper for the ringing bell, an operating connection for the mute bell, a cam operated lever for simultaneously operating the clapper to sound. the ringing bell and operating the swinging mute bell, and means for rendering the said lever inoperative.

5. In a toy electric locomotive, the com- K bination of a mute swinging bell mounted in an exposed position on the locomotive and a concealed ringing bell, a lever for V swinging the mute bell and a clapper actuated by said lever for sounding the ringin bell in synchronism with the movement 0 the mute bell, a cam for actuating said lever, a gear carrying said cam, and a inion of low ratio engaging with said gear gr slowly operating the same.

6. In a toy electric locomotive, the com- 10 bination of a swinging mute bell mounted in a visible position on the locomotive and a ringing bell mounted in a concealed position within the locomotive, and a lever having means connected therewith for simulta- 15 neously sounding the concealed bell and swinging the mute bell, and means for actuating said lever.

7. A toy electric locomotive, including in combination with the locomotive housing, a bell supporting bracket mounted on top of the locomotive housing, a mute bell mounted to swing in said bracket, a lever pivotally mounted within the body of the locomotive, a bell also mounted within the locomotive, an operatin connection between said mute bell and sald lever, and a clapper forcthe ringing bell actuated by said lever.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature.

I HARRY S. BECKER. 

